Friday, June 5, 2009

Cobbled Together

This was a hard week. A really hard week. Things were said, things were not said... And I wasn't prepared for any of it.

But then all of a sudden something broke. Or rather, something broken was suddenly reset and stitched together again. And then everything felt (mostly) all right.

My friends Sean and Melissa (yep, the same ones) are leaving for several months. After spending a large portion of this painful week at their house, I am even more sad to see them go. Tonight some of us are getting together for games, togetherness, and a whole lot of laughter, and I've made this Strawberry Graham Cobbler to add a little sugar to the festivities.

It's warm and oozing with sugary strawberry goop, and topped with a brown sugar and graham cracker crumb topping that's really more of a streusel than anything else. I hope it adds some sweetness to our time together tonight.

Strawberry Graham Crumble

Filling:

32 ounces frozen strawberries

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoon flour

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (1 stick) butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine filling ingredients in baking dish, stirring until the strawberries are fully coated with the sugar/ flour mixture.

In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients for the topping. Then add the cubes of chilled butter and integrate into dry ingredients using a pastry cutter, fork, or your fingertips, until the butter is thoroughly mixed throughout and feels like damp sand. There should still be small clumps of butter, about the size of a pea.

Spoon the topping onto the strawberries and bake for 35-45 minutes, until the strawberries are bubbling and the top is golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.